The leaders of the five fast-growing BRICS powers are meeting in New Delhi to harness their collective clout on the global stage and push plans for a new development bank and for trade in each other's currencies.

James Arruda Henry had plenty to be proud of as a lobster boat captain who managed to build his own house and raise a family. But he kept a secret into his 90s, one that forced him to bluff his way through life by day and brought tears at night.

A snowplow driver and his wife went to great lengths to dispose of the body of a popular teacher they had just beaten and strangled, putting her nude body on a tarp, pouring bleach on it, weighing the corpse down with concrete blocks and tossing it into the Connecticut River, court documents allege.

Insurgents ambushed a NATO coalition supply convoy in a mountainous area of western Afghanistan, sparking a three-hour firefight in which an Afghan soldier, five Afghan security guards, and 14 attackers were killed, officials said Thursday.

The Tibetan who burned himself alive on the eve of a visit by China's president left a letter that urged the world to stand up for his homeland, activists said, while Indian authorities detained more Tibetans on Thursday in the Indian capital.

The University of San Diego women’s basketball team saw its season come to an end Wednesday night with a 73-57 loss to Oklahoma State University in the semifinal round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament.

Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney is attacking rival Rick Santorum as a friend of "big labor" as they campaign in Wisconsin, where a fight over labor unions is fueling a bitter recall effort aimed at Gov. Scott Walker.

Hundreds of critically endangered orangutans in western Indonesia could be wiped out by the year's end if palm oil companies keep setting land-clearing fires in their peat swamp forests, conservationists warned Thursday.

Medical student Gregory Shumer studied the electronic health record and scooted his laptop closer to the diabetic grandfather sitting on his exam table. "You can see," he pointed at the screen _ weight, blood sugar and cholesterol are too high and rising.

Republicans are ready to ram through the House an election-year, $3.5 trillion budget that showcases their deficit-cutting plan for revamping Medicare and slicing everything from food stamps to transportation while rejecting President Barack Obama's call to raise taxes on the rich.

Encinitas has violated the U.S. Constitution's free speech provisions by banning a local arts group from publicly displaying banners with a memorial message honoring former Councilwoman Maggie Houlihan, her husband told the City Council on Wednesday night.

Aiming to help dozens of low-income senior citizens avoid becoming homeless, the City Council agreed Wednesday to keep Escondido's temporary rent subsidy program alive through April so city officials can explore some long-term options for preserving it.

Marco Belinelli had 22 points and six assists, Jarrett Jack added 20 points and nine assists and the New Orleans Hornets earned a rare victory by routing the Golden State Warriors 102-87 on Wednesday night in a matchup of shorthanded teams out of the playoff chase.

Teemu Selanne scored the tiebreaking goal early in the third period, Jonas Hiller made 28 saves, and the Anaheim Ducks dealt a blow to San Jose's playoff hopes with a 3-1 victory over the Sharks on Wednesday night.

Australian officials said Thursday they are not investigating a newspaper's claims that Rupert Murdoch's embattled News Corp. was involved in a piracy-promoting plot aimed at crippling its competitors.

Mexican authorities say gunmen killed five local police officers in the border city of Ciudad Juarez a day after members of the force left hotels where they had been staying since last month for protection.

The father of a neighborhood watch volunteer who fatally shot an unarmed teenager says despite dispatchers telling his son to stop following Trayvon Martin, he kept going so he could get an address for police to check.

Narrowing Mission Avenue from four to two lanes downtown, making it one-way heading toward the beach, and sprucing it up was picked by the Oceanside City Council Wednesday as the top priority for spending nearly $11 million the city has left in redevelopment money.

One man was hospitalized and two others were in custody after a suspect was shot by federal agents in the parking lot of a Chevy's restaurant in Richmond during an undercover sting, authorities said Wednesday.

Murrieta planning officials don't want to see a high-speed train racing through the center of the city, they said Wednesday. Nor do they want to force neighboring cities to develop their cores in a way that is inconsistent with the goals for their communities.